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Newt Gingrich takes New Hampshire for granite

Newt Gingrich has failed to capitalize in N.H., according to politicos in the state. | AP Photo

“I think the appeal of somebody who, in your gut you feel has a real shot at winning, who is a conservative, would probably rally them,” Smith said. “I think it’s that hunger for somebody that is able to stand up to what I consider the chopping block of the media.”

Hillsborough GOP Chairman Steve Stepanek, a state representative backing Gingrich, argued that his candidate is the only one in the field who still has an opportunity to seize that space against Romney, and predicted that Gingrich would put in some of the sweat equity that’s been missing from his effort so far.

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“I would expect to see that he’s going to be spending more time here, that he’s going to be doing more town hall events reaching out to the people,” Stepanek said. “If he spends a lot more time in New Hampshire, which is what he’s planning on doing, and they get to see him and hear from him up close, they’ll realize how good he really is.”

For Gingrich, though, time is running out, and New Hampshire isn’t the only priority on his agenda, or even the most immediate one. He’s spending Friday in South Carolina and then launching a post-Christmas bus tour of Iowa on Dec. 27.

That means he’ll be counting on a solid Iowa performance to propel him into New Hampshire, and then an intense one-week push to close the deal.

Gingrich appeared to lower expectations for his performance in New Hampshire and other early states during a Thursday appearance in Virginia, declaring that he needed to finish strong in Iowa and crack “the top two in New Hampshire and then to win South Carolina and Florida.”

“We have a huge ground game in New Hampshire, which just sprung up overnight, I think largely in reaction to Massachusetts,” Gingrich said, in a dig at Romney’s home state.

Romney’s supporters openly scoff at the idea that a powerful grass-roots operation has suddenly come into being for their opponent, and express confidence that they’ve built a New Hampshire organization that can withstand whatever even a rebounding Gingrich can throw at them.

“Mitt is holding very, very well here,” said New Hampshire House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, a Romney supporter, who acknowledged that the Union Leader endorsement was “a positive development for Newt.”

“The problem is that his campaign has completely failed to take advantage of it,” Bettencourt said. “The Union Leader can print as many editorials as they want and the Gingrich campaign still isn’t going to be able to close the gap.”

Readers' Comments (60)

O’Brien wasn’t the only iconic midterm election figure at the event: Gingrich’s state director, the youthful conservative organizer Andrew Hemingway who made his name in 2010,

KEY is 2010-takeover and we all now know that fractious faction of 2010 freshmen hurt the Nation, hurt Republican Party, and hurt the daily lives of everyday working voters.

by-the-by, these are voters who may have voted Republican but now face the ill-prepared candidates with "Loyalty Questions" = the kinds of questions that say these candidates are Koch-minions, Norquist-minions or anti-USA and show the Republican Slate as "Not Ready To Lead"

Newt would make a great VP. You can tell that Newt is resonating with the people, that's why the LSM (lamestream media) is going at him so hard. Remember when Cain caught fire, there was hit piece after hit piece aimed at him? Now that Newt is on fire the LSM has their sites aimed at him. It won't work, Newt is prepared for you jerks.

“You look at a candidate that has a reputation for exaggeration, for being unapologetic, for being somewhat divisive – he has surrounded himself with a staff that is the exact same way,” Foley said, adding of the Gingrich operation: “A whole lot of this is a bit of smoke and mirrors – social media, Facebook, Twitter.”

Mr. Gingrich is the idea man of the Republican Tea Party, sort of. They have tried like crazy to get support here in Georgia, but even the radical evangelicals here are having a hard time chewing on his nonsense.

Callista is the stumbling block for him--she's like McCain's Sarah Palin. Folks try to look beyond her helmet-hairdo and see her as a perfect match for an unscrupulous husband.

Relax, Newt will get there. Romney is about done. Newt just finishing him off. N Hampshire will be an easy sell shortly. Holidays in the way. Once again, timing is everything. Romney in 2002: I'm "Moderate," "Progressive," and "Not a Partisan Republican" [VIDEO]—By David Corn| Tue Dec. 13, 2011 7:06 AM PST Mitt Romney says he's a die-hard conservative. He says he's not a flip-flopper. Yet…plenty of Republican voters don't seem to believe him. They have plenty of reasons not to. As Romney has moved from Massachusetts politics to GOP presidential politics, he has famously reversed course on abortion rights, gun control, gay rights, and health care reform. And it's all on video. Still, Romney keeps on denying any somersaults, but not convincingly. (See: Bret Baier.)Now there's new video out showing that Romnney has indeed pulled a 180 on his entire political persona. And it's in Romney's own words. In 2002, when he was running for governor in Massachusetts, he issued a strong declaration of his basic principles while campaigning in Worcester:I think the old standby definitions of who votes for which party have been blown away in this campaign. I think people recognize that I'm not a partisan Republican—that I'm someone who is moderate, and that my views are progressive.heres the link to the entire article and video:

Really, for granite? I understand the reference but hardly appropriate for an article title. Lacks professionalism in my opinion. Was there an attempt to find out from Gingrich himself why he hasn't capitalized on this?

Newt's overd ego is getting in his way, as usual. He imagines now that the Republican base has "come to its senses," it will never turn away from him. He thinks he can ride the huge wave his do-nothing campaign has "created" for him all the way to the White House. He has convinced himself he's a seer and sees that it is a new world, baby -- the social media age that makes quaint campaign stops and glad-handing laughably out of date and largely irrelevant. Gingrich also has a weight problem that exacerbates his age problem (appropriately pushing 69). Tell me I'm not the only one who has noticed Newt prefers sit-down situations, like book signings and movie showings. Granted, he likes them also because they are, in his mind, properly focused -- on HIM -- and bring more money into his greedy, grubby hands. He hangs onto debate lecterns (especially when he thinks the camera isn't watching) like some oldsters hang onto their canes. He has as many fat cells as he has political and personal baggage. He refused to lose weight and get into shape for the race of his life. Why? Because he's Newt, the wonderful exception to all the rules that apply to everyone else. Don't people understand? Can't people see that Newt taking $1.6 million to further Freddie Mac's cause is totally and uniquely different than those "criminals" he wants imprisoned for having any association with Freddie Mac? Gingrich feels sure once Republicans see the light of his inscrutable, unique, singular, exceptional greatness, they will then happily support any move he makes as uniquely brilliant and will loyally hoist His Heaviness to their shoulders and carry him to the Oval Office.

You can tell the candidates don't believe they can win. All the serious guys stayed home, and these guys only want to do enough to sell books next year - they don't want an actual candidacy because they'd be ostracized like McCain. The GOP media is so bipolar. Mitt was great, then he invented Obamacare and Bill O'Reilly decided that was evil, so he was evil, now he's the serious candidate, soon they'll be like, he's got to win, he's our candidate, he's great. These guys are all unelectable and the party is going to take a beating next year. Only suckers think Obama created the deficit. The millionaires on Fox News love that lie while they defend the two wars and Bush tax cuts that killed the middle class and the economy. The middle class can't afford health care and Fox News loves that, because that's more money for their portfolios.